1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel complex of fibrous materials and fungi obtained by allowing fungi to grow in a medium containing fibrous materials thereby bonding the fungi to the fibrous materials to the fungi.
The complex of fibrous material with fungi is utilized as building materials such as fiberboards, heat insulating materials, and the like; sound materials such as acoustic diaphragms, speaker cones, and the like; base materials for fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP); packing materials such as packages for floppy diskets, envelopes and the like; paper; and the like. As a result of employing the present process for preparing the complex, synthetic fibers containing the complex can be formed which exhibit a comfortable feeling. The present process is thus applicable to the fields of fibers and apparel.
2. Description of the Background
In order to prepare paper from pulp manufactured from wood, a beating step is necessary during the manufacturing process. That is, paper is formed by bonding pulp fibers to each other through hydrogen bonding, but the hydrogen bonding between pulp fibers is insufficient which means that it is impossible to obtain paper having a satisfactory strength from a practical viewpoint. Accordingly, pulp fibers are fibrilated during the beating step to increase the surface area. This results in enhanced hydrogen bonding between the fibers and therefore a practical paper product. However, exclusive facilities and large quantities of energy are required for such a beating step. No process is known for paper making which does not employ a pulp beating step.
Furthermore, in recent years there has been an increasing necessity of securing wood resources on a global scale. Conservation is aided by the recycling of waste paper, i.e., using the waste paper as a paper-making raw material. However, paper recycled from waste paper involves the problem that its strength deteriorates in comparison to paper prepared from pulp. That is, a portion of the fibers which constitute waste paper falls apart during the recycling step, thereby resulting in paper of diminished strength. Therefore, by mixing pulp prepared from wood with waste paper, waste paper can be better utilized.
An alternative to the use of waste paper and wood pulp as raw materials for paper making is a technique in which fungi are cultured in industrial waste water or city sewerage with pulp, as disclosed in (cf. Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-10280). However, the breaking length of paper prepared from the product of culturing is only less than 0.9 km and the strength of the paper is considerably weak in comparison to ordinary paper. Hence, such paper cannot be employed as a substitute for conventional paper.
British Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2,165,865, discloses a process in which fungi are treated with an alkali solution to expose chitin or chitosan, mixing the thus treated fungi, with other fibers to prepare non-woven fabric and using the non-woven fabric as wound dressings, wet wipes or adsorbents of metal ions. However, the non-woven fabrics prepared by the above process do not have a sufficient strength as paper, as is the case with the previously mentioned product prepared by mixing fungi with pulp.
In the manufacturing of fibers and apparel synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon, and the like have been used. However, such fibers lack the comfortable feel associated with natural fibers such as cellulose, silk and the like. That is, these synthetic fibers readily generate static electricity since they do not adsorb moisture at all or they absorb only little moisture. Therefore, when one wears clothes prepared from such fabrics, the synthetic fibers give an uncomfortable feeling peculiar thereto, which is not realized in natural fibers. Further, synthetic fibers have no gloss in comparison to natural fibers because the surfaces of synthetic fibers are very smooth in comparison to the surfaces of natural fibers. In order to eliminate these problems, several attempts have been made to mix synthetic fibers and natural fibers or to artificially generate unevenness on the surface of synthetic fibers. Even with these treatments, however, it is not possible to prepare synthetic fibers or fabrics which have a touch comparable to silk among natural fibers. A need therefore continues to exist for a substitute for material fibers.